Concealed manifold gas range



Sept. 10, 1935. s. H. HOBSON CONCEALED MANIFOLD GAS RANGE Original Filed July 16, 1931 I Patented Sept. 10, 1935 UITED STATES CONCEALED MANIFOLD GAS RANGE Stanley H. Hobson, Rockford, Ill., assignor to Geo.

D. Roper Corporation, Rockford, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application July 16, 1931, Serial No. 551,151 Renewed January 25, 1935 20 Claims.

This invention relates to a concealed manifold gas range.

The concealment of the manifold brought with it certain problems in the matters of construction 5 and assembling. In many cases a shield or apron covering the manifold is provided as a separate piece arranged to be fastened by screws so as to permit access to the cocks and shutters by removing the apron. That, however, makes it necessary to have exposed screws, and, besides, the material and assembling costs are excessive with such a construction. It is, moreover, rather unhandy to have to remove and replace the screws whenever it is desired to get at the cocks and shutters. It is, therefore, the principal object of my invention to provide the apron as the front of a drawer fitting in the burner compartment, the said apron being'thus retractable for access to the cooks and shutters by simply pulling out the drawer. Furthermore, this construction dispenses with the necessity for a separate burner tray, because the drawer bottom serves that purpose.

Another object is to provide circular knobs for the cooks and circular holes of slightly larger diameter in the apron for the projection of the knobs through the apron and so as to permit movement of the apron to and from operative position without removal or manipulation whatsoever of the knobs. It is another object to provide other holes or louvers in the apron whose main function is to admit primary and secondary air to the burner compartment but which are adapted to serve as hand holes in the sliding of the drawer, it being, therefore, unnecessary to provide a separate handle or handles for that purpose.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a front view of a portion of a gas range embodying my invention, and

Fig. 2 is a section in the plane of the line 2-2 of Figure 1 looking in the direction indicated.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts in the two views.

7 A cabinet type gas range is illustrated having the usual double oven section'5 alongside the cooking top 6. l is one of the front burners and 8 one of the rear burners of the cooking top, the burner I being of a special construction suited for use with a concealed manifold 9, the distance between the manifold and the front burners being cut down in a concealed manifold range to such an extent that the ordinary front burners cannot be used, although no special construction is required for the rear burners. The construction of the burner I is covered in a copending application of Peter I. Hollman, Serial No. 443,646, filed April 12, 1930, now Patent No. 1,916,572, dated July 4, 1933. Specially designed cocks l are provided for delivering gas from the manifold 9 to the burners They project downwardly from the manifold and have nipples ll screwed onto the discharge ends thereof. for delivering the. gas into the burners along with primary air supplied through the usual shutters l2. The stems l3 of the cooks project forwardly and in accordance with my invention 10 are equipped with special circular knobs M. The usual stamped sheet metal shield I5 is provided interposed between the front burners and the manifold to prevent heating of the cocks when these burners are in use, so that'the lubricant provided for the easy operation of the cooks will not be dried out so readily.

In accordance with my invention the front of the burner compartment I6 is arranged to be closed by an apron I1, which forms the front of a drawer slidably received in the burner compartment, the bottom i8of the drawer being thus arranged to serve as the burner tray for protection of the contents of the burner bo'x compartment I9, in which a so-called utility drawer is sometimes provided, although in the present case a hinged door 20 arranged to be opened'like an oven door is illustrated. The drawer bottom l8 slides on guides 2| provided at opposite sides of the burner compartment 16 and, since the bottom I8 is intended to serve no other purpose than that of a burner tray, no side or back walls are provided. The apron I'I forming the front wall of the drawer is suitably stamped from sheet metal to the cross-sec- 3 tion illustrated in Fig. 2 and has a transverse lower flange 22 fastened suitably by bolts 23 to the front end of the tray 18. A sheet metal brace 24 is provided at the middle of the apron ll formed to fit under the upper edge of the apron to permit spot-welding thereof to the transverse upper flange 25. The brace 24 is suitably secured to the tray l8, as by means of a bolt 26 to make the apron H as rigid as possible. Now, a'plurality of circular holes 21 is provided in the apron II through which the knobs M are arranged to project, the holes being slightly larger in diameter than the knobs so as to insure easy passage of the knobs through said holes in the movement of the apron into and out of operative 0 position. Other holes, preferably, but not necessarily, in the form of louvers, are provided in the apron H, as indicated at 28, in proper relation to the shutters l2 of the burners so that a good supply of primary air is always assured. A cer- 5 tain amount of the air entering through the holes 28 also finds its way into the burner compartment Hi to serve as secondary air to support combustion at the burners. While the main function of these holes 28 is to admit air to the burner compartment it will be seen that they also serve as hand holes in the pulling out of the drawer when it is desired to have access to the cocks and shutters. The drawer can also be pulled out by simply taking hold thereof at the lower edge of the apron, there being no cross member below the drawer to interfere with doing that. The drawer is formed at its front end in such a way that a ledge is provided suitable for grasping the drawer for such operation, as is thought to be self evident in Fig. 2.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the various objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn so as to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. In a gas range, the combination of a cooking top having a burner compartment therebeneath, a burner in said compartment, a gas supply manifold, a cock for delivering gas from the manifold to the burner, a tray disposed beneath the burner and forming the bottom of the burner compartment, the same being slidable forwardly in said compartment, an apron for concealing the manifold and closing the front of the burner compartment, said apron being providedon the front end of the tray to move into and out of operative position therewith, the apron having a hole provided therein, and operating means for the cock extending forwardly through said hole.

2. A gas range as set-forth in claim 1 wherein the operating means comprises a substantially circular knob provided on the stem of the gas cook, and wherein the hole in the apron is provided of circular form so as to accommodate the knob in any position to which the latter may be turned, the said hole being large enough to permit free passageof the knob through the hole, whereby to permit free movement of the apron and tray into and out of operative position.

3. A gas range as set forth in claim 1 wherein the apron is provided with another hole for the r admission of air to the burner compartment to serve as primary and secondary air for the burner, the said hole being of a form and size to be suitable as a hand hole for use: in the movement of the apron and tray to and from operative position. v

4. In a gas range, the combination of a cooking top having a burner compartment therebeneath, a burner in said compartment, a gas supply manifold mounted below the cooking top in the front end of said burner compartment, valve means for delivering gas from the manifold to the burner, an upright member .for concealing the manifold and closing the front of the burner compartment, means for supporting said upright member for sliding movement in a fore and aft direction to and from operative position, and operating means for the valve means extending through said upright member.

5. In a gas range, the combination of a cooking top having a burner compartment therebe neath, a burner in said compartment, a gas supply manifold mounted below the cooking top in the front end of said burner compartment, valve I means for delivering gas from the manifold to the burner, an upright member for concealing the-. manifoldand valve means and closing the v slidable on said guides, and an apron front of the burner compartment, and means for supporting the upright member for sliding movement in a fore' and aft direction to and from operative position.

6. In a gas range, the combination of a cooking 5 top having a burner compartment therebeneath, a burner in said compartment, a gas supply manifold in said compartment, valve means for delivering gas from the manifold to the burner, and a drawer slidable back and forth in the burner compartment, the bottom of the drawer serving as a tray beneath the burner and defining the bottom of the compartment, and the front of the drawer serving to conceal the manifold and valve means and to close the burner compartment.

7. A gas range as set forth in claim 6 wherein the front of the drawer is provided with a hole for admission of air to the burner compartment to serve as primary and secondary air for the burner, the said hole being of a form and size to be suitable as a hand hole for use in pulling out and returning the drawer.

8; In a gas range, the combination of a cooking top having a burner compartment therebeneath, a burner in said compartment, a gas supply manifold in said compartment, valve means for delivering gas from the manifold to the burner, and a drawer slidable back and forth in the burner compartment, the bottom of the drawer serving as a tray beneath the burner and defining the bottom of the compartment, and the front of the drawer serving to conceal the manifold and valve means and to close the burner compartment, the drawer being devoid of side and back walls, and means for bracing the front from the bottom.

9. In a gas range, the combination of a cooking top having a burner compartment therebeneath, a

plurality of burners in 'said compartment, a gas supply manifold in the front end of said compartq ment, cooks for delivering gas from the manifold 40 to the burners through shutters provided on the latter, a pair of guides provided at the opposite sides of the burner compartment, a burner tray supported in vertical position on the front end of the tray and arranged to close the front endof the burner compartment for concealment of the manifold, cocks and burners, said apron being slidable forwardly and rearwardly with the tray like a drawer, and said cocks having operating means projecting forwardly therefrom through holes provided therefor in the apron in such a way as to permit movement of the apron to and from operative position without removal of said operating means.

10. A gas range as set forth in claim 9 in which the apron is provided with one or more holes in a predetermined relation to the. shutters of the burners for good delivery of air thereto, said holes being furthermore of a form and size to be suitable as hand holes for use in pulling out and returning the tray.

11. A gas range as set forth in claim 9 including a vertically disposed brace member behind the apron fastened to'the apron and tray to make the apron rigid with the tray, said brace. being disposed in such a position that the same is arranged to enter between two of the cooks when the apron knobs, the said holes being of suflicient size to permit free passage of the knobs through the holes to facilitate movement of the apron to and from operative position. I

13.. In a gas range, the combination of a cooking top having a burner compartment therebeneath, a burner in said compartment, a gas supply manifold, a cock for delivering gas from the manifold to the burner, a tray disposed beneath the burner and forming the bottom of the burner compart ment, the same being slidable forwardly in said compartment, and an apron for concealing the manifold and cock and closing the front of the burner compartment, said apron being provided on the front end of the tray to move into and out of operative position therewith.

14. A gas range as set forth in claim 13 wherein the apron is providedwith one or more holes for the admission of air to the burner compartment to serve as primary and secondary air for the burner, the said holes being of a form and size to be suitable as hand holes for use in the movement of the apron and tray to and from operative position.

15. In a gas range, the combination of a cooking top having a burner compartment therebeneath, a burner in said compartment, a gas supply manifold, a cock for delivering gas from the manifold to the burner, a tray disposed beneath the burner and forming the bottom of the burner compartment, the same being slidable forwardly for removal from said compartment, and an apronfor concealing the manifold and cook and closing the front of the burner compartment, said apron being provided on the front end of the tray to move into and out of operative position therewith and to permit removal therewith from the range.

16. In a gas range, the combination of a cooking top having a burner compartment therebeneath, a burner in said compartment, a gas supply manifold mounted below the cooking top in the front end of said compartment, valve means for delivering gas from the manifold to the burner, and a front panel slidably mounted on the range for movement in the horizontal plane of the burner compartment to and from operative position concealing the manifold and valve means and closing the front of the burner compartment.

17. In a gas range, the combination of a cooking top having a shallow burner compartment therebeneath, a ,burner in said compartment, a gas supply manifold below the cooking top in the front end of said compartment, valve means for delivering gas from the manifold to the burner, and a front panel of the 'same height as the burner compartment normally disposed in an upright position at the front end of said compartment concealing the manifold and valve means and closing the front of the burner compartment, said panel being mounted for outward movement in the plane of the burner compartment to afford access to the burner compartment and the burner and valve means therein. 5

18. In a gas range, the combination of a cooking top having a burner compartment therebeneath, burners in said compartment, valve means for supplying gas thereto having manually rotatable operating handles disposed at the front of said compartment, and a front upright panel normally closing said compartment but leaving said handles exposed for operation, said panel having openings provided therein in which the handles are rotatable in the closed position of the panel, and said panel being mounted for forward movement relative to said handles to open said compartment, said openings being of a size and shape permitting movement of the panel to and fro relative to the handles in all positions of rotary adjustment of the latter.

19. In a gas range, the combination of a cooking top having a burner compartment therebeneath, burners in said compartment, valve means for supplying gas thereto having manually ro tatable circular operatinghandles disposed at the front of said compartment for rotation on substantially horizontal axes, and a front upright panel normally closing said compartment but leaving said handles exposed for operation, said 39 panel having circular openings provided therein in which the handles are rotatable in the closed position of the panel, and said: panel being mounted for forward movement relative to said handles to open said compartment, said openings permitting movement of the panel to and fro relative to the handles in all positions of rotary adjustment of the latter.

20. In a gas range, the combination of a cooking top having burners therebeneath, valves for 40 supplying gas to said burners having individual manually rotatable circular knobs for operation thereof disposed in spacedrelation at the front of the range, and a front closure panel normally disposed in a closed position, leaving said knobs exposed for operation, said'panel having spaced circular openings provided therein for reception of said knobs through which said knobs project for operation in the closed position of the panel, said panel being mounted for forward movement relative to said knobs to an open position, the openings in said panel being substantially closed by said knobs in the closed position of the panel and permitting movement of the panel to and fro relative to the knobs in all positions of rotary'adjustment of the latter.

STANLEY H. HOBSON. 

